The effects of alcohol and good reason to drink less

The effects of alcohol on your body

Drinking too much too often can have an impact on your health. Reduce your risks by knowing how much you are drinking and making sure you don’t drink more than the guidelines.

If you regularly drink more than the guidelines you increase your risk of developing health problems.

There is no safe level of drinking

If you drink less than 14 units a week, this is considered low-risk drinking. It’s called “low risk” rather than “safe” because there is no safe drinking level.

The type of illnesses you can develop after 10 to 20 years of regularly drinking more than 14 units a week include:

• cancers of the mouth, throat and breast
• stroke
• heart disease
• liver disease
• brain damage
• damage to the nervous system

The effects of alcohol on your health will depend on how much you drink. The less you drink, the lower the health risks. For more information visit NHS Choices

Good reasons to drink less

Once you start cutting back you’ll notice the benefits including:

• Feeling full of beans – once you start cutting back, you may quickly find you have more energy and feel less tired during the day.

• Enjoying a good night’s sleep – drinking can affect your sleep and stop you from sleeping deeply. You’re also likely to wake early and find it hard to drop off again. Once you start cutting back you’ll notice your sleep improving.

• Better skin – alcohol dehydrates your skin every time you have a drink, depriving your skin of vital vitamins and nutrients and making it appear dull and grey. Luckily, skin is quick to react to changes so it should be looking better after just a couple of days of drinking less.

• Fitting into your favourite jeans again! – alcohol is fattening! All those hidden calories in your drinks can put you at serious risk of becoming overweight or obese. Cut out just one pint a day for a week and you’ll have saved nearly 1,500 calories! So it won’t be long before your jeans starting fitting you better.

• More cash – drinking less is great for your wallet. The cost of drinking alcohol can quickly add up. Think how much you could save by making small changes and cutting down.

• Better long-term health – the biggest benefit to cutting back is better long-term health, including reducing your risk of developing cancer, liver or heart disease. You may not be able to see the difference you’re making, but by sticking to the government’s low risk guidelines you’ll be doing your body a big favour.